The present invention relates to a mounting bracket. More particularly, the present invention relates to a bracket for mounting an optical component relative to a circuit board.
Due to their ability to transmit large amounts of data, optical fibers are being used more frequently for data and optical transmission. The optical fibers are generally coupled with data processing circuitry, such that data or optical signals can be transferred between the optical fiber and the circuitry. In many applications, the circuitry may be provided on a daughter circuit board which is mounted vertically on a mother circuit board. As such, there is a need to mount the optical equipment, for example a photodiode or laser, relative to the circuitry on the daughter board. Due to the fine size of the fiber optics, it is necessary to mount the optic components with precision.
A prior art mounting arrangement is shown in FIG. 1. A daughter circuit board 12 is vertically mounted relative to a mother circuit board 10. A mounting bracket 14 is secured to the mother board 10 via screws 16 or the like. The mounting bracket 14 can be made precisely such that the fiber optic path 22 is in precise alignment with the circuitry target 24. However, if the daughter circuit board 12 moves relative to the mother board 10, for example during shipping or installation, the alignment between the optic path 22 and the circuit target 24 may be negatively effected.
Accordingly, there is a need for a mounting bracket which allows the optical component to be mounted relative to the daughter board while maintaining the alignment of the components and within the parameters of optical equipment.
The present invention relates to a bracket for mounting an optical component to a circuit board. The bracket comprises a bracket body member having a board contacting side and a component receiving side. A board contacting surface extending in a first plane is defined along the board contacting side. A component mount is defined along the body member with a termination surface extending adjacent the board contacting side in a plane recessed from the first plane.